Book Reviews with Les Schupak

 

 

 

Barrett gives equal space to the unfortunate players who collapsed on the back nine and would never be fitted for the winner's green jacket. Harry Cooper, Jim Ferrier, Greg Norman, Scott Hoch, Ed Sneed, Tom Lehman, Davis Love III, Ernie Els, and Chris DiMarco are all portrayed as worthy but devastated competitors. And Barrett of course tells the tale of Roberto De Vicenzo and his incorrect scorecard that cost him a place in an 18-hole playoff and handed the 1968 tournament to Bob Goalby. 

 

The multiple winners who are deservedly memorialized include Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Jimmy Demaret, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Seve Ballesteros, Ben Crenshaw, Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Jose Maria Olazabal, Bubba Watson, and Tiger Woods. Barrett reminds us that winning more than one Masters virtually assures entrance to Golf's Hall of Fame and immortality in the minds of golf fans.

 

The author highlights the many changes in the golf course over the years in an effort to keep current the only annual major host. In 1981, the greens were switched from Bermuda grass to bentgrass, producing faster surfaces. In 2006, six holes were lengthened bringing the listed course yardage to 7,445, and Barrett notes it was not just because of Tiger but rather the preponderance of players who could easily reach the par-five 13th and 15th holes in two shots. In 2020 the official yardage was 7475, which seemingly was not a problem for Dustin Johnson. Stand by for potential new changes.

 

For such a comprehensive effort, this book would be richer still if it included photographs. Barrett's prose is descriptive, colorful, and picturesque, but photos of these major champions and their reactions would provide a more complete dimension. Nevertheless, this book deserves to be in every golfer's library and is required reading every first week in April.

 

 

 

 

The American Society of Golf Architects has published "Designs on a Better Golf Course: Practical Answers to Common Questions for Green Committees" (135 pages, $24.95,  available at www.asgcafoundation.org). If you’re a member of one of those committees, a club’s board of directors, or just an interested observer, this book contains a trove of useful knowledge about your course, its design, and how best to keep it up-to-date. 

 

Written in chapters of no more than three pages, each asks the "Who, What, When, Where, How and Why" on issues such as the design of a new golf course, whether to restore or renovate an existing one, and other arcane subjects including the shape of greens, where sand bunkers should be placed, the size and number of tee boxes, and the routing of cart paths.

 

Why, for example, did the architect at your course place a sand bunker along the fairway adjacent to a water hazard or behind a green complex beside a lake, the one that attracts your ball like a magnet? It's there to catch an errant shot and to avoid pace of play delays for a search – and, not incidentally, to save you a penalty stroke.

 

The book describes various golf course themes and showcases how some renowned architects have built their reputations on specific elements like Donald Ross greens, Tillinghast sand bunkers, and Pete Dye railroad tie bunkers. 

 

More esoteric topics like drainage, irrigation, bunker liners, and turf types are explained. These may not be as critical for the average Green Committee member, but the input is useful for understanding how the superintendent and the architect ensure a healthy and well-conditioned golf course. According to a 2019 USGA research study, course conditioning ranks first for golfers as a key experience enhancer, and that’s one of the most important areas within the Green Committee’s purview.  

 

 

 

 

Billy Dettlaff, author of "Summer at the Muni" (WJD Press, $49.95) is a Master PGA Professional -- and a master storyteller. This, his fourth book, is a recounting of his life as a youngster in Oshkosh, WI, where his father was the first head golf professional at the local golf club.

 

His father passed away from lung cancer when Billy was six, and from that moment he began a lifelong journey to emulate the man who designed the course, maintained it, and provided instruction to players of all skill levels as well as being a merchant of clubs, balls, apparel, and snacks. The book is a highly personal look at a slice of Americana during the ‘50s and ‘60s as Billy grew up in a midwestern town and learned the game as a player and as a caddie as he and his brother, sister and single mother carved out their lives.

 

Dettlaff has an amazing memory and retells many heartwarming tales of his life spent at the course his father loved that was dubbed "The Muni."  A distant but impactful memory was his ninth birthday present from his mother — a set of Spalding RTJ junior clubs. He used them every Monday morning for years at The Muni when juniors played for free until noon.

 

This book will resonate with thousands of golfers of that era who discovered the game in a variety of ways, not uncommonly learning golf at a local municipal course or becoming a caddie at one or at a private club. Golf often became a catalyst to enhancing and enriching one's life. Dettlaff records his own path, and it’s an inspiring story leading him to a position as head golf professional at Inverrary CC in Florida and, ultimately, as national director of golf operations for the PGA Tour's TPC Network. 

 

While golf has experienced change, there are some aspects that remain nearly the same as in the 1890's, the 1930's, and the 1960's. Typically, people are introduced to the game by a parent, a sibling, a spouse, a friend, a teacher or coach.  Each individual has a story about what golf means to them. Dettlaff has chronicled his in this moving and passionately written memoir, which he dedicates not only to his father but to his entire family.